Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Last night 20/20 did a segment on the five best television series of all-time (as compiled by ABC News and People Magazine). Was hoping BIG WAVE DAVE'S would squeak in but alas it must've just missed the cut. Still, I'm very proud (and astounded) to have been part of two of the five. Even having an association with one would be remarkable enough, but two? Wow! Now I feel guilty that I never watch 20/20.

Anyway, here are the top five:

I LOVE LUCY
SEINFELDMASH
ALL IN THE FAMILYCHEERS

The nominees were determined by an all-star panel of television writers, producers, actors, directors, and you. Americans registered more than one million online votes earlier this summer (although 47% of them are victims who just feel they're entitled to good television so who gives a shit?).

Interesting that all five are comedies, no?

My sincere thanks to ABC, People Magazine, and those independent voters who were willing to take responsibility for their own remotes.

BY THE WAY...

(now that I have your attention) I will be holding another SITCOM ROOM seminar the weekend of November 10 & 11 in Los Angeles. I do these once every year or every two years only. I'll announce when registration is open shortly. For more info check outthe SITCOM ROOM website. You can also sign up there to be notified by email about registration before I make it public.

I lost interest in Seinfeld when I realized how unlikeable the characters are. I do realize that's part of the point of the show, but something about it still killed my enjoyment of it. For the most part.

I lost interest in Seinfeld when I realized how unlikeable the characters are. I do realize that's part of the point of the show, but something about it still killed my enjoyment of it. For the most part.

I was curious whether there was more than one decade missing and ended up on I Love Lucy's wikipedia page, where a side trip took me to Laugh Tracks. I remember someone once asking whether the laugh tracks on shows that still use them (if any) are made of laughs from people long dead. So I'm curious.

Also a couple seasons ago someone said there was only one current sitcom that was not filmed before a studio audience and I wondered which one and is that still true.

If you are looking for questions - I'd love to know the answers to those last three.

Both MASH and Cheers are certainly worthy of inclusion on the list, but as other commenters have indicated the list as a whole lacks any recognition of the fact that US TV drama has recently been through something of a golden age.

It's maybe not so surprising, though. To get into the top 5, a show has to be warmly regarded by a large number of people. Good comedies have something of an advantage in the "warm regard" factor, which may explain their domination of the list, but it's the "large number of people" factor that most likely explains the overlooking of recent quality drama.

TV viewership has fragmented, and even the best recent shows don't have the mass viewership that older shows such as these five enjoyed. That's clearly true of The Wire, as an HBO show, whose lack of inclusion is otherwise inexplicable, but even shows on more mainstream channels don't get the same mass audiences that older shows used to get.

That's not to denigrate the shows that did make the top five: a show has to have something good going for it to be remembered fondly by a huge number of people decades after it was aired. It's just to say that the apparent lack of recognition of recent drama is an artefact of the voting system and changes in TV consumption, rather than a reflection on the relative quality of the shows.

When the topic of I Love Lucy comes up in these sorts of discussions, I try to make allowances for the fact that Lucy was breaking new ground, and there are scenes and lines and plots throughout her various versions of the Lucy show that there was a lot more to her than mugging and crying, but ILL as the best TV show of all time? No way.

I'm guessing fans of The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, St Elsewhere, ER, Hill Street, Deadwood and a few others cancelled each other out and put comedies up top.

I think that sitcoms more easily hold the attention of viewers and therefore would be easier to recall in any such survey than dramas. Also, sitcoms probably over the years have offered more memorable moments than dramas. Who can forget some of the great moments such as the "Chuckles Bites The Dust" episode of Mary Tyler Moore -- or the NEWHART finale? -- or Sammy Davis Jr. kissing Archie Bunker just as their picture together is snapped... Or "The Contest" episode of Seinfeld... Or "Vitameatavegamin" on I LOVE LUCY?... Or "Turkeys Away!" on WKRP.... There are quite a few others, but I think these make the point. The ONLY two moments of drama I can really recall that stand out in the past 50 years are "Who shot JR?' and the ending of THE SOPRANOS. When most dramas tend to be formulaic and plot driven rather than character driven, there really isn't much opportunity for creating a moment that will live forever in people's memories.

Ken, my cousin posted this on her Facebook yesterday. I thought it might make you laugh:

M-R (7): Can we start to watch shows that are for older kids. Our shows are a little babyish. Us: (eyes widening) How about Star Wars??????! M-R: Noooooo!!! I was thinking about that show Grandmom always watches. Frasier. It's like the Lion King when I watch it. I love that show.

Except for Lucy, notice that all of these shows were out-of-the-box FLOPS. They'd have been cancelled in 2 minutes today. AITF: took 3 years and 2 pilots to get on the air, and season 1 had middling ratings. CHEERS: DEAD LAST in season 1. Ken has recounted that the suits wanted to switch to VIDEOTAPE to bring down costs. SEINFELD: a "rejected" pilot and then a measly 4 episode order, and it took 3 years to inch up to "middling" ratings. MASH: critics were too busy saying the film was better while audiences ignored the show. It took a while for all of these to get noticed! (Same for the often mentioned Dick Van Dyke). Even Lucy had to go out and make her own pilot, and then fight for a 3-cam setup. Are you noticing, genius execs?

I know recent seasons haven't been up to the early standards, but I'm amazed that people already seem to have forgotten that The Simpsons was the greatest TV show ever. Ken, you should have had a hand in three of the five. (as I'd bounce Lucy or AITF to make room)

Someone said "All In The Family" doesn't hold up well, and that's probably because most of the episodes were very much of their time, either directly or indirectly dealing with the events of the day. In contrast, if you ignore the fashions and focus on the characters and writing, its contemporary, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," doesn't have that problem. You can watch it in 2012 without needing to have any knowledge of American life in 1972.

I have no qualm with "Seinfeld" being on the list. Once that show hit its stride, it was a dynamo -- four characters, often in as many subplots for each, and they'd all come together at the end. Loved it.

I'm simply glad "Friends" didn't make that list; it's arguably the most overrated sitcom of the past 20 years.

About KEN LEVINE

Named one of the BEST 25 BLOGS OF 2011 by TIME Magazine. Ken Levine is an Emmy winning writer/director/producer/major league baseball announcer. In a career that has spanned over 30 years Ken has worked on MASH, CHEERS, FRASIER, THE SIMPSONS, WINGS, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, BECKER, DHARMA & GREG, and has co-created his own series including ALMOST PERFECT starring Nancy Travis. He and his partner wrote the feature VOLUNTEERS. Ken has also been the radio/TV play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres. and has hosted Dodger Talk on the Dodger Radio Network.

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